Editor’s Note: Varian
Medical Systems focuses energy on saving lives. By partnering with customers
and others, the people of Varian develop leading solutions for improving cancer
treatment, X-ray imaging, and security.

Varian Medical
Systems is honored that Secretary Locke and an esteemed Congressional
delegation devoted time to seeing our systems treating cancer patients at Seoul
National University Hospital (SNUH), while on a trade mission to the Republic
of Korea. SNUH, a longtime partner of
Varian, provides some of the most leading edge cancer treatments available to
those stricken with this terrible disease.
The Varian linear accelerators that perform radiotherapy treatments at
SNUH were manufactured in California and then installed and serviced by a team
of technicians in Seoul, providing jobs on both sides of the Pacific.

While visiting the radiation oncology department at SNUH,
Secretary Locke was able to see firsthand the easy and painless process a
cancer patient goes through when being treated with radiotherapy. Radiotherapy is a non-invasive technique that
targets tumors with high-energy photon beams that stop cancer cells from
reproducing. Treatments on Varian
linear accelerators are tailored for each patient, focusing on breast,
prostate, brain, lung and other types of cancers. In
the next several months, SNUH will be acquiring the new Varian TrueBeam system
that will enable clinicians in Seoul to treat more complex cases, while at the
same time reducing treatment times for patients.

We are able to place Varian technology in the hands of
oncologists in Seoul thanks to the existing beneficial trade relationship
between the U.S. and Korea. However,
this relationship would be further strengthened if the pending US-Korea Trade Agreement
was ratified, thereby eliminating the existing tariff barriers that are
currently in place for technology like ours.
Should the trade agreement be finalized, it would eliminate an 8 percent
tariff for Varian and potentially lead business growth in both the U.S. and
Korea. In addition, it would help to
make the most advanced cancer treatment in the world available to more patients
in Korea.

It is my hope that patients in Korea and all over the world
will continue to benefit from the collaborative innovation that occurs due to
mutually beneficial trade relationships.
In order to continue to innovate new ways to treat cancer and other
diseases, we need to ensure that we can keep working together around a common
goal.

Related

Today Secretary Gary Locke and the congressional delegation concluded
their three-day trip to Seoul with a visit to the Demilitarized Zone – the
border between South and North Korea – and a lunch with U.S troops and their
families at Yongsan Garrison to thank them for their service. The group also
met with leaders of South Korea’s Democratic Party and Grand National Party at
Korea’s National Assembly to discuss the U.S.-South Korea Trade Agreement
(KORUS).
“Over the last few days we have had the
opportunity to see first-hand the benefits that KORUS will bring to the
economies of both the U.S. and Korea,” Locke said. “There is great demand for
U.S. products -- from made-in-America cell phone components to life-saving
medical equipment. This agreement will increase mutually beneficial trade,
strengthen our economies and create jobs in both of our countries.”
Locke also visited Seoul National University Hospital for a
demonstration of Varian Medical Systems’ (Palo Alto, Calif.) advanced
radiotherapy technology. Varian is the world leader in this life-saving,
cancer treatment technology with approximately $34 million worth of annual
sales to South Korea. Their equipment is manufactured in California and
Utah and exported globally. Under the U.S.-South Korea trade agreement, the
tariff on Varian’s products would be eliminated, making the company more
competitive in the Korean market.

Guest blog post by Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke.This
week, I’m visiting the Republic of Korea, one of the United States’ closest
allies in the world, and one of our most important trading partners. Last
December, President Obama signed a landmark trade deal with Korea that could
boost annual exports of American goods to Korea by up to $11 billion,
supporting at least 70,000 U.S. jobs.
But the deal still needs to
pass Congress, which is why this week, I’m leading four Members of Congress on
a fact-finding mission that will demonstrate firsthand how this trade deal will
lead directly to more sales of American goods and services abroad and more
American jobs here at home.
Korean
and U.S. businesses are already collaborating, innovating and trading together
like never before. This week, members of our delegation – which includes
Representatives Dave Reichert and Jim McDermott from my home state of
Washington and Representatives Joseph Crowley and Charles Rangel from New York
– are getting to see this up close.
Tomorrow,
we visit Pantech, one of Korea’s largest mobile phone makers, and a major buyer
of U.S. technology.

On the second day of the CODEL trip to Korea, Secretary Locke and the congressional
delegation visited Pantech, one of the largest mobile phone makers in South
Korea, to see firsthand how the U.S.-South Korea Trade Agreement
will help American and South Korean businesses and workers in today’s global
manufacturing and supply chain.
Currently,
Pantech imports about half a billion dollars worth of U.S. products annually,
including chipsets from Qualcomm (San Diego, Calif.) and Gorilla Glass from
Corning Inc. (Corning, New York). Gorilla Glass is manufactured in
Harrodsburg, Kentucky and is exported around the world for use in smart phones,
tablets and other mobile devices and has applications across a large range of
industries. In addition, nearly 60 percent of Pantech’s production
equipment is made by U.S. companies.
With
the approval and implementation of the U.S.-South Korea agreement, Pantech is
expected to quadruple its purchase of U.S. products by 2015, while Corning will
see existing tariffs on Gorilla Glass eliminated immediately upon
implementation of the agreement. Corning, utilizing these benefits, will gain
market share in South Korea’s growing mobile-device market by enhancing its
competitiveness vis-à-vis other manufacturers in the region. Corning is
also investing $180 million to expand its factory in Harrodsburg in order to
meet the growing demands of its customers in Asia, including South Korea.
Earlier in the day, Locke met with his South Korean
counterpart, the Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Joong-Kyung, to discuss
KORUS and the cooperative relationship between the U.S. Department of Commerce
and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

By Ted Berg:Varian Medical Systems (VAR) is the leading supplier of radiation therapy systems used to treat cancer. The company's shares currently trade well below intrinsic value, which we estimate at just under $100. We see an opportunity for the shares to move higher based on a number of important secular drivers.
Radiotherapy is a Critical Technology

By USAStockValuation:Varian Medical Systems Inc. (VAR) is a global leader in the supply of equipment and software for treating cancer with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, and brachytherapy. The company also sells x-ray equipment and x-ray imaging products along with proton therapy products and a range of other medical equipment and services mainly for the cancer treatment industry.

For big pharma, a cure for cancer is still the holy grail but there has been some headway. In the past five years, drug companies have launched 70 drugs that treats 20 types of tumours. At least 500 companies are working to develop a molecule that might cure the disease, or at least prolong survival. The global market for cancer treatment shot up to nearly $107 billion in 2015, according to consultancy IMS Health.

By Jim Van Meerten: I try to cover a broad base of stocks and give you the information I would use if I was considering the stock. I've gotten many requests to know exactly what I'm buying. This morning I bought Varian Medical Systems (VAR) and I'll show you why, and how I will manage this position.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials on Tuesday approved a first-of-a-kind drug that uses the herpes virus to infiltrate and destroy deadly skin cancer tumors.The Food and Drug Administration approved the injectable drug from Amgen Inc. for patients with hard-to-treat melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer that is expected to be diagnosed in 74,000 U.S. patients this year. For now, the drug is only approved for melanoma tumors that cannot be removed surgically.

A saliva test to reveal a patient's risk of breast or prostate cancer could be available in doctors' surgeries within five years, according to a "groundbreaking" study. A major research drive involving more than 1,000 experts has revealed more than 80 genes which help determine from birth whether or not someone will develop cancer during their life.